Lack of exercise puts one in four people at risk, WHO says
Very little progress has been made in reducing levels of inactivity worldwide, experts have warned.
AWHO report estimates that more than a quarter of people worldwide - 1.4 billion - are not doing enough physical exercise, a figure that has barely improved since 2001.
Inactivity raises the risk of a raft of health problems, such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes and some cancers.
High-income countries, including the United Kingdom, were among the least active. Researchers from the World Health Organization (WHO) looked at self-reported data on activity from 358 population-based surveys in 168 countries, including 1.9 million people, for their study in The Lancet Global Health. They found that those who were classed as inactive did less than 150 minutes of moderate exercise - or 75 minutes at a vigorous intensity - a week.
Countries driving the upwards trend included Germany, New Zealand and the US. Women were less active than men in all but East and South-East Asia, with the biggest differences being in South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, north Africa and high-income Western countries.
The authors said this was likely to have been caused by a combination of factors, including extra childcare duties and cultural attitudes that made it harder for them to exercise. In lower-income countries people are more likely to be active in their jobs and walk or use public transport.